The Avenger
by MC99
Summary: "With great power comes great responsibility."-Voltaire He was betrayed by the village he fought for. He was left to die, yet he still does not crave vengeance. He wishes to bring justice to this world, and he will stop at nothing to fulfill his ambition. Naruto & Fullmetal Alchemist Crossover. AU. OCXOC.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first story, so try not to flame me. However, constructive criticism is very much appreciated, so please leave a comment.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist**

* * *

Horus was not having a very nice day.

He released another coughing fit. Blood spattered all over the ground, and his vision is blurring. He is on his knees, and he looked like he could collapse any moment. His body is laced with multiple cuts and burns, but his most prominent wound is the giant hole in his chest. The damnable liquid poured out of the wound like a fountain, and it isn't stopping anytime soon.

"Damn… it…"

Bodies are strewn all across the Hidden Sound Village. Men, women, and even children are falling left and right. The ruthless invading army raped and slaughtered anything in the village. No one, not even the infants, was spared.

"No…" _This wasn't supposed to happen! I can't die like this!_

Horus tried to stand up, but he couldn't move a single muscle. He just fell forward flat on his face and hopelessly struggled to pick himself up. He grudgingly accepted his fate and embraced the darkness.

* * *

**In the Root Headquarters**

Danzo is a very interesting individual.

He is a slightly scrawny man standing at a decent height of 5'10'', but most people know better than to cross him. He is the supreme commander of a special division of Anbu, Root. He never displays any emotion, yet today, something was off.

"What happened? Is he dead yet?" He gritted through clenched teeth. He was beside himself in rage, and the tension was clearly evident in his voice.

"I—I don't know, sir," the ninja scout fearfully stuttered. He was probably pissing in his pants right now, because nobody has lived to see Danzo get this angry.

"Leave." The trembling Root ninja promptly left to escape Danzo's wrath. Fortunately, Danzo had already shifted into deep thought. He was thinking about one man, one who could potentially turn his ninja career upside down.

"Horus…" _That bastard!_

All that was on his mind was his former subordinate, Horus. He was born with nothing—no family and no chakra—yet he has become an Anbu commander at only 14. What feared Danzo the most was his tactical genius, which put the intellect of both Shikaku, the head of the Nara clan, and Itachi Uchiha, the head of the almost nonexistent Uchiha clan, to shame.

To say that he is able to do more with less is a understatement; he was able to defeat the Hidden Sound's army with an observational brigade of only 50 men! Those men were sent as a buffer to weaken the Sound ninja, so that Danzo could wipe them out with his army. However, Danzo did not expect the commander to take absolute control of the situation and pull off such a feat.

_He has never killed anyone for God's sake! How is this possible?_

He sent his backup army anyway, but issued new orders: kill the commander and his remaining soldiers. He also ordered them to destroy the sound village and wipe out the entire population. It seemed a bit drastic, but it was necessary to erase any evidence implicating him in the invasion of the Hidden Sound. However, the new Hokage, Tsunade, was going to be a pain in the ass.

Tsunade has been Hokage for less than a year, yet she has changed the Hidden Leaf more in the last three months than the Third Hokage, Sarutobi, has in five years. Danzo could do whatever the hell he wanted under Sarutobi's tenure, but the same isn't true for Tsunade. She would stop at nothing to end Danzo's very existence if she found any evidence connecting this invasion to him. He had to take this slowly, and if he were to make a mistake, it would be the last one of his life.

Suddenly the door opened and the same ninja he previously dismissed entered.

"What now?" Danzo is starting to get irritated with his subordinates.

"Danzo-sama, the commander is dead." answered the scout, mostly bereft of the fear he displayed earlier.

Danzo sighed in relief. _Finally! _

Another scout entered the room, and Danzo's relief quickly faded.

_You have got to be kidding me! _"Report," Danzo ordered with a calm facade.

"Danzo-sama, Hokage-sama ordered you to attend a council meeting."

* * *

Horus groggily woke up. He has a severe headache and can barely comprehend his situation.

He groaned in pain as he took in his surroundings, which lacked a variety of color. In other words, it was just white space.

_Where the hell am I? Am I dead?_

"Yes… and no," a booming voice eerily similar to Horus' responded. The former Root commander looked around to find the source of the voice, and it happened to be a body composed of darkness, one with the shape of his own.

"What the crap are you?" Horus is not happy with his situation. He wants answers and he wants them now.

"I am the called by many names I am the world, I am the universe, I am god, I am truth, I am all, I am one, and I am you," the being responded. He is standing in front of a large door that is adorned with some interesting patterns resembling a tree.

"So, why am I here?" Horus questioned.

"I will be returning your soul, but for that I will need something in return." Horus' left arm started to disintegrate from the fingertips and he released a scream of pure pain and hatred. His pain suddenly faded once his arm is no more. His anger, however, wasn't going anywhere.

"You asshole! what the hell was that for!"

"Quiet, child. Let me continue. Now I will give you the power to seek the retribution that you desire." Horus quirked his eyebrow with interest.

"This power comes from an ancient art that has been extinct for generations. I will impart this knowledge upon you, but it will take years to master." Now Horus was visibly confused. His face of confusion suddenly changed to one of apathy after he gave up on trying to understand what this "God" character was telling him.

"You talk to me like I give a shit. Now would you care to explain what the fuck you are talking about?"

After a moment of contemplation, the being asked," What do you know about Flame Alchemy?"

* * *

**A/N: It was a pretty short chapter, but I had to get it out of the way, so that we can dive into the action next chapter. Please leave a review, any feedback will be appreciated. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist **

* * *

**(Three years later)**

**In the Hidden Leaf Village...**

The jounin exams are finally complete.

Ninja of many different ranks and villages gathered around the back of the Hokage tower to spectate the most important part of the exams, the promotions. The new Hokage stepped onto the balcony to announce the new jounin. She is a light-skinned woman of average height with brown eyes, and blond hair down to her shoulders. She has a violet rhombus mark on her forehead, but what distinguishes her from most females is her chest. She is a very well-endowed kunoichi, but her age does not even remotely represent her appearance. She is actually 58 years old, yet she looks to be in her late twenties.

"Tsunade-sama! Start the speech!" her apprentice, Shizune, called out. Shizune is a kunoichi in her early thirties, but she is not as "gifted" as Tsunade. She is wearing a black kimono and she is also holding Tsunade's pig, Tonton.

"Fine!," Tsunade snapped back. She grudgingly pulled out a written copy of her speech and placed it on the podium. Shizune's eyes narrowed into a scowl. Tsunade isn't the most responsible Kage, so it was expected that she would not know her speech by heart. Tsunade scrambled through her papers to find the first page of the speech and cleared her throat to notify the audience that she was ready.

She began her speech talking about the Will of Fire, but many of the audience members were quite bored. Contrary to her predecessor, the Third Hokage, she isn't a very engaging speaker. There were a few that nodded off, and Tsunade's eye twitched when one of the jounin sensei, Kakashi, started to snore. He was an enigma: he was always late to everything, he always wars a black mask covering most of his face and left eye, and he almost always is seen reading an orange book. Most women hated that book due to the fact that it is just porn that reduces women to nothing but sex toys.

His chunin team currently consists two people, despite the fact that most teams should have three. The midnight blue-haired boy, Sasuke Uchiha, is an arrogant sixteen-year-old who happens to have a superiority complex. He is quite tall for his age, standing at 5' 10', and his hair is spiky in the back, like a duck's ass. He is contemplating about one thing, and one thing only:

_When the fuck will she announce the damn jounin promotions?_

"Sasuke-kun, will you go out on a date with me?" A pink haired kunoichi requested, "Pleease?"

"No!" Sasuke angrily responded, gritting his teeth.

"Why won't you go out with me, Sasuke-kun?"

"You're weak, you're useless, and worst of all, you are so damn annoying!" Sasuke retorted, "Do you want me to give you any more reasons, or are you going to shut the fuck up for once!?"

"Sasuke..." The pinkette, Sakura, was completely in tears.

Three years ago, when Sakura first graduated from the academy, she has tried everything to impress Sasuke. However, after Sasuke told her that she was too weak for him, the kunoichi became Tsunade's apprentice and put every ounce of her time into becoming a stronger medical ninja. She still cannot even garner a second of the Uchiha's attention without being insulted or outright ignored.

"Yo Sakura!," a brown haired boy called out, "What happened?"

Sakura quickly brushed away her tears and looked up to see Ken Inuzuka. He stands at 5' 8" and has sharp, eyes with vertical, slit-like pupils, spiky brown hair, and purple claw markings of his clan on his cheeks. Contrary to most members of his clan, Ken does not have an Inuzuka ninja dog with him. He also refrains from relying on his clan jutsu.

"Go away mutt!" Sakura retorted, "Leave me alone!" She then continued to sob silently.

Ken's demeanor suddenly changed to one of hate. His jaw clenched and his fists balled up, yet they stayed at his sides. He despised being associated with his clan or their stereotypes, and he did not appreciate the insult after trying to ease her pain. His anger started to fade after a hand was placed on his shoulder. The person holding him back is Ken's blue-haired teammate, Takeshi Hyuga.

Takeshi stands at about 5'9", making him the tallest member of his team. His hair is tied in a ponytail that goes down to his lower back, and his eyes are lavender, just like those of his clan. Just like his Inuzuka teammate, he hates being associated with his clan and therefore refrains from using clan jutsu. However, his hatred of main branch of his clan has grown to such an extent that he refuses to live anywhere near the Hyuga compounds or train with his clan members. The reason for this is the clan's tradition of branding every member of the branch family with a caged bird seal. The seal, when triggered by anyone from the main branch, slowly destroy's the person's brain cells until they submit, or suffer a rather painful death. Despite all of this hatred that he carries with him, he always makes the most logical and rational decisions.

"Calm down Ken, she just needs some time alone."

Ken relaxed, and sat back down to watch Tsunade fail to give anything that resembles a proper speech. Takeshi and Ken were best friends and rivals for as long as they remember. In every one of their spars, Takeshi would always have the upper hand, but each of these fights always left them both severely bruised and battered.

With a puff of smoke, a 16-year-old lightly tanned girl suddenly appeared next to Takeshi. She stands at 5' 7", has a medium bust, and also has straight, onyx black hair down to her lower back. According to various sources (most of the male ninja in the village), she is one of the most attractive kunoichi in the Hidden Leaf Village. However, her cold demeanor and her fearsome on-field reputation leaves most males fearing for their lives, rather than lusting after her.

"Kazumi!" Ken yelled out, "Where the hell were you!"

"Getting a drink of water."

Kazumi Uchiha could care less about answering the Inuzuka's question. What she really is concerned about is if she made it on time for the announcements for the promotions.

"In Training Ground 44?" Takeshi questioned. Kazumi did not flinch at the question. Her team already knew about her habit of training whenever she got bored, yet no one dared to follow her to the training ground. Training ground 44, more commonly known as the Forest of Death, is a very dangerous place infested with giant, poisonous creatures, yet for some reason Kazumi finds it comforting.

"Did she announce the—"

"And now for the jounin promotions!" Tsunade bellowed to the audience. She then rattled off a list of names, none of which concerned Kazumi Uchiha or any of her teammates. She was waiting for her name to be called, so that she can go on higher ranked missions. A group of ninja from the crowd body flickered to the stage beneath the balcony of the Hokage tower to receive their promotion. Once the Hokage finished with the promotions, she immediately went back to her cabin. The audience, relieved that Tsunade decided to forego the conclusion speech, slowly started to disperse.

"Its okay," Ken consoled, "There's always next year."

If anything Kazumi was a bit disappointed. She had given it her all in the exam, and there was no doubt that she would get promoted. She was about to leave for the training ground until an ANBU body flickered in front of the team.

"The Hokage demands your presence," the ANBU whispered right before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

"Why would Tsunade-sama want to talk to us?" Ken asked. Takeshi shrugged.

"Let's go," Kazumi ordered. Ken and Takeshi nodded, and the trio vanished in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

**15 miles north of the Hidden Leaf Village...**

Kakuzu is not a happy man. He has been tasked to capture the jinchjuuriki of the Two Tails with an annoyance of a partner, Hidan. Hidan is a crazed follower of his god, Jashin. He always seems to be offering blood sacrifices or yelling 'Hail Jashin-sama!' whenever he isn't fighting. The only thing that makes him a competent fighter is his immortality.

The One-tailed jinchjuuriki is reported to be in Hidden Lightning Village, so they had to go through Fire Country to capture him. At this point, all Kakuzu is concerned about is not drawing any attention from any hunter ninja or ANBU. Kakuzu suddenly stopped tree jumping, as he detected an ANBU spy.

"What the hell is it?" Hidan questioned.

"Shut up," Kakuzu whispered,"A leaf ANBU detected us."

"Then we should find him," Hidan loudly retorted.

"Are you stupid? If we follow him to the Hidden Leaf then we would be doing his job for him. The only thing we can do is go to the Hidden Sand and get our job done as quickly as possible."

"Fine."

"And please don't scream out prayers. It is both very annoying and will most likely get us captured or killed," Kakuzu warned.

* * *

**In the Hidden Leaf Village...**

"You four will be going on a S-Ranked mission," Tsunade ordered, "One of my ANBU was able to locate two Akatsuki members. Fortunately he was able to escape before they were able to find him."

"So you want us to kill two S-ranked missing ninjas from a terrorist organization that intends to capture every jinchjuuriki and probably take over the world," Ken incredulously confirmed.

"Yea pretty much," a black haired ninja responded,"Although I don't know if they can do it."

"We can do this Niisan," Kazumi quickly asserted.

"That would be Itachi-sensei for you, Imouto."

Kazumi, ignoring her brother, turned to leave. Her brother is quite annoying, and he only got worse after becoming her sensei.

"Oh, and one more thing," Tsunade recalled,"Congrats kid." She then threw Kazumi a jounin vest, which she immediately put on. The kunoichi gave the Hokage a quick thank-you nod and then disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Time to go kids," Itachi ordered, receiving a glare from both of his students. The trio gave Tsunade a quick nod before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

_Stay safe,_ Tsunade thought as she pulled out a bottle of sake.

* * *

**5 miles from the Northeast Fire Country Border...**

"Hurry!" Hidan urged, "We need to get out of Fire Country!"

"Shut up you little bitch!" Hidan angrily retorted.

Suddenly an explosion appeared behind Kakuzu and throttled him into a tree.

"What the fuck!" Hidan is hyperventilating. He had no idea what had just happened.

"Uuggh," Kakuzu groaned, "That took out one of my hearts."

"I should be surprised that that didn't kill you, but you wouldn't be an Akatsuki member if you died that easily."

"You coward!" Hidan screamed, "Where the fuck are you!"

"Right here."

Hidan turned around just in time to see a man wearing a black trench coat adorned with blue flames. Most of his lower face, except his eyes, is covered by a metal mask. He seemed to be wearing a protective vest and a belt underneath the coat. His right hand is covered by a white glove with a maroon circle pattern on the back. His left arm is covered by bandages, and it is slightly larger than his right. The man launched his left fist at Hidan's jaw, breaking it with a sickening crack. Hidan jumped back and fixed his jaw back into place. He then pulled out his triple bladed scythe and launched a flurry of strikes at the man. The man blocked the strikes with his left arm, ripping the bandages to reveal a metal arm. The revelation brought the desired effect, causing Hidan to hesitate. The other man launched a kick at Hidan, pushing him a few feet back. He was about to snap his fingers until he saw Kakuzu get up from his peripheral vision.

**"Lighting Release: False Da—"**

_SNAP_

Kakuzu's attack is cut short when a large explosion engulfed him. He was blown back a few hundred meters, further enraging Hidan.

"You bastard!" Hidan yelled. He then launched another flurry of attacks, but to no avail. He is trying to stall the man so that Kakuzu could return, but is opponent unflinchingly countered every one of his blows with his left arm. The man pulled out a couple marble-like objects from his hidden belt and hid them in his left fist. He waited for Hidan to attack, and brought his arm up to block the strike. He then flicked the two objects at Hidan's face. The Akatsuki member tried to jump back, but his momentum prevented him from doing so. The man then closed his eyes as flash of light appeared in front of Hidan's face, blinding him. The second object burst into smoke that engulfed the duo. The man immediately took off in the direction of Kakuzu, leaving Hidan to yell out curses at him.

* * *

**10 miles north of the Hidden Leaf Village...**

"Where the hell are the Akatsuki!" Ken yelled.

"Calm down," Takeshi responded, "We'll find them soon enough."

Kazumi is visibly irritated with her teammates, yet she has not uttered a word ever since the team left the village.

"So Imouto, how is life?" Itachi asked, "Did you finally find someone?"

"Shut up, Niisan," Kazumi calmly retorted. She knew what he was trying to imply, yet she acted like she couldn't care less.

"Why don't we talk about your love life, Itachi-sensei?" Takeshi asked, seeing Kazumi's hidden discomfort.

"Yea, What's going on between you and Anko?" Ken asked, causing Itachi to blush, "I never knew you were interested in older women."

"N-Nothing" Itachi stuttered. As a former ANBU captain, he isn't used to being this embarrassed. After seeing how the villagers treated Anko, he started to take an interest in her life. However, there was nothing between them, yet.

"Sure, Niisan," Kazumi sarcastically replied. The other two are barely holding their laughter, and the female Uchiha felt the corners of her mouth curl up into a smile.

* * *

**5 miles from the Northeast Fire Country Border...**

Kakuzu is scared.

As a S-classed missing-nin and Akatsuki member, Kakuzu has never felt fear. Even when he fought the First Hokage, who was believed to be the strongest of shinobi, he has never felt fear.

Why now?

The man standing in front of him now has destroyed two of his hearts with a snap of his fingers. He is the second most fearsome man Kakuzu has ever fought, yet the worst part is that he has absolutely no chakra. That is what makes him undetectable. That is what makes him unstoppable.

Kakuzu activated his long range form, and hair tendrils shot out of his back and his neck. He has two masks next to his head, and more bundled tendrils elongated his arms.

**"Wind Release: Pressure Damage. Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work," **Kakuzu yelled out. His right mask released a tornado, and his left mask released a fire ball. The wind tornado combined with the fire attack to form a seemingly unstoppable fire tornado that moved in the direction of his opponent. The masked man snapped his fingers once again. Kakuzu's eyes widened as he saw his unstoppable attack dissipate into thin air. However he used the previous attack as a distraction to launch his tendrils to wrap the man. The masked man tried to jump back, but the tendrils grabbed his legs and rooted him to the ground. The man grunted and tried to snap his fingers, but Kakuzu's tendrils wrapped around his arms and pulled them down to his sides. After his opponent is wrapped in a cocoon of tendrils, Kakuzu pulled the man closer to him.

"Who are you?" Kakuzu demanded, "Where are you from?"

Despite his current situation, the man remained calm and did not utter a single word. Kakuzu tightened the cocoon, and heard the cracking of a few ribs. However, the man simply released a grunt, and nothing more. Kakuzu had enough of this, so he started to build up chakra for another combo attack. However, his opponent took advantage of the hesitation and spat a marble-sized flash-bang grenade at Kakuzu's face. The Akatsuki member's eyes widened, which was a big mistake. He is blinded by the flash of light, therefore loosening the cocoon. His opponent tore at the tendrils with his left hand, freeing his right hand.

_SNAP_

The ensuing explosion destroyed Kakuzu's remaining hearts and burned away the cocoon, leaving a collapsed, severely burned Kakuzu and a limping man with several second degree burns standing over him.

"How..." Kakuzu uttered. The metal-armed man tore of his broken mask and dropped it on the ground next to Kakuzu's feet. Kakuzu is visibly surprised when he saw the face of a teenage boy who didn't look a day older than sixteen.

"I did my homework," The boy explained. Kakuzu is dying, so he might as well explain.

"I planned out this fight, from start to finish. I knew you were going to use those tendrils after using your fire-wind combo. I allowed you to bring me closer to you so I can finish you off."

Kakuzu smiled at the explanation. At this point, he has nothing but respect for the kid.

"Good job...brat," Kakuzu complimented as he coughed out blood.

"See you in hell," he finally uttered as he breathed his last. The kid snapped his fingers to burn the body, but suddenly a scythe impaled his gloved hand. Hidan pulled back his scythe and launched a kick. The kid raised his left arm to block the strike, but Hidan expected that.

"For a brat smart enough to kill Kakuzu, I expected more than that!" Hidan yelled as he tore into the boy's right leg with his weapon. The boy grunted in pain as he collapsed on one knee. Hidan then kicked his opponent back a few yards, crashing into a tree.

"You're done, kid."

Hidan then drew a Jashin symbol around him to start his patented ritual. He moved his scythe to his mouth, but just before he tried to lick the blood, he heard a soft flick.

An explosion suddenly overwhelmed him, knocking him a few meters back. Hidan looked to see his opponent leaning on the tree behind him, somehow still standing. His right arm is limp, and he is holding a lighter on his left hand.

"How is this possible!" Hidan indignantly yelled, "You should be dead!"

Another flick.

Another explosion engulfed the immortal Akatsuki member, forcing him to collapse on one knee.

"You can't kill me..." Hidan claimed, "I'm immortal you fucking brat!"

"Then let's see how many times I have to kill you until you die."

A series of explosions overwhelmed Hidan. The immortal Jashinist screamed in pain as the flames burned away at his body. One after another, Hidan's limbs turned into ash. All that remained is his head, which is completely covered in burns.

"What... are... you..." Hidan painfully uttered.

"You can call me Horus... or Commander. Hell, you can call me The Avenger. Whatever you do, just remember the pain."

For the first and last time of his life, Hidan wanted to die.

* * *

** A/N: How is that for the second chapter? Please leave a review, any feedback will be appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist**

* * *

**5 miles from the Northeast Fire Country Border**

"We're here," Takeshi uttered.

"Finally!" Ken yelled, "We can kick some Akatsuki ass!"

"I think someone already did our job for us," Itachi incredulously stated. Kazumi raised an eyebrow as Itachi pointed at an unconscious boy who looked to be about 15-16 years old. Ken and Takeshi's jaws dropped and Kazumi's eyes widened in shock. They saw a pile of ashes behind a Jashinist symbol on the ground and another burnt corpse covered by pieces of an Akatsuki cloak.

"Holy shit...D-did he just k-kill?" Ken stuttered.

"Yes," Itachi confirmed,"He killed two Akatsuki members."

"To be more specific," Takeshi added,"Hidan and Kakuzu."

"Wait, how do you know?" Ken questioned.

Kazumi pointed to the Jashinist symbol on the ground and let Ken make the connections. The teen is shaking for some reason, as if he is experiencing a nightmare.

"We need to heal him," Itachi ordered,"Takeshi!"

Takeshi ran to the boy and applied his healing jutsu. His eyes widened once he saw his face.

"What is it Takeshi?" Itachi asked.

"Th-this person," Takeshi stuttered,"I-is he-"

Itachi's eyes widened in shock. Ken has a blank face; he has no idea what is going on. Kazumi's hands balled into fists, and her jaw clenched in anger once she saw the unconscious teen's face.

"C-commander," Itachi finally uttered. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he wiped them before they fell.

"This fucking bastard is not your damn commander!,"Kazumi angrily yelled,"He is a traitor to the village and to humanity!" Ken looked at her in shock. He has never seen her get this angry.

_Poor kid,_ Ken thought, _You're screwed._

"What the hell is going on?" Ken incredulously asked.

"This kid," Itachi sadly answered,"He is my former commander, Horus."

"Wait...Is he the bastard that betrayed the Hidden Leaf for the Hidden Rock and slaughtered everyone in the Hidden Sound?!" Ken angrily asked,"Is he the reason you ditched Takeshi and Kazumi three years ago to return to ANBU?!"

"Yea, you left us with the pervert," Takeshi added,"Jiraya."

"Don't remind me..." Kazumi angrily added,"By the way, how is the bastard?"

"I've healed all of his stab wounds and most of his burns," Takeshi answered,"He has lost a lot of blood."

"What is his blood type?"Itachi asked.

"B+," Ken replied.

"Damn," Itachi softly cursed.

"I'll be the donor," Kazumi stated. Ken, Takeshi, and her brother looked at her, surprised that she would want to save his life.

"I don't want him to die," Kazumi asserted, her lips curling into a sadistic smile,"I want him to be punished like the bastard traitor he is."

Takeshi and Ken shivered at her behavior, yet Horus shivered for a completely different reason, causing Itachi to wince.

Takeshi pulled out first aid and other medical equipment from a storage scroll and extracted blood from Kazumi. He then injected the blood into Horus' bloodstream.

"There is something I need to tell you guys," Itachi stated.

"What is it?" Ken asked.

"It is about Horus," Itachi answered. His male students' faces turned into frowns, and Kazumi's face was one of pure anger.

"Whatever it is," Kazumi seethed,"We already know!"

"Shut up!" Itachi yelled,"Let me speak."

The three students stared at their sensei in shock; they have never seen Itachi get this angry. He was always a calm, composed person, and he never lost his cool. They wondered why Itachi seemed to care so much for Horus.

"It was a few days before the massacre..." Itachi began.

* * *

**Flashback (Three years ago)**

_**In the Hidden Sound Village**_

_Itachi approached the commander's headquarters. The commander summoned the Uchiha prodigy at 3:15 a.m., so it was probably important._

_The 50 Hidden Leaf ANBU sent by Danzo, including Itachi himself, have finally captured the Hidden Sound village. Most of the ANBU did not specialize in close combat, or even expected an invasion to occur. However their genius of a commander riled them up and executed the invasion perfectly, leaving no Leaf casualties. _

_The invasion was a series of guerrilla attacks facilitated by five groups of ten ninja, each led by an ANBU captain. Each of these groups took out the factories located in various parts of the village and rescued the people that were being experimented on._

_The the invasion was a success largely because of the failure of the Sand-Sound invasion of the Hidden Leaf Village, which occurred during the Chunin Exams held there. The Sound leader, Orochimaru, killed the Third Hokage, but at the cost of his arms. There were also many Sound casualties, including the Sound Five, which consisted of Orochimaru's most powerful subordinates, and this left the village in a weakened state__._

_What Itachi expected to see is a sleeping 12-year-old boy, but what he is currently seeing is a boy who is chugging a bottle of sake. His eyes widened in shock, what a 12-year-old doing with a bottle of alcohol? He is about half the drinking age, yet he doesn't seem to care._

_"Commander Horus, what are you doing!?" Itachi warned, pulling away the bottle from Horus' grasp._

_"J-Just Horus," The boy commander stuttered, obviously drunk,"Please, g-give it back, Itachi...s-sensei."_

_Itachi's jaw dropped in surprise._

_He was in fact Horus' former jounin sensei, when Horus was a genin. He was the only student in the graduating class who has no chakra, and he couldn't do proper taijutsu. However, his intellect surpassed that of his teachers, therefore enabling him to graduate a year before those of his age group._

_Horus was Itachi's student, and his partners were Takeshi Hyuga and Kazumi Uchiha. However, his money-minded nature earned him the ire of his teammates and sometimes his sensei. Horus has always tried to extract more money from his clients, and he never gave any respect to his sensei, teammates, or the Hokage, who hated him the most. _

_Even before he graduated, he did D-ranked missions reserved for genin at a cheaper rate. These "missions" were always dealt in secret, and the payment was always in cash. Only the Hokage knew about these activities, yet he had no evidence to hold him accountable for taking missions away from genin. To any other person, Horus was just a kid paid to do chores, but thanks to him, most genin were forced to take higher ranked missions._

_ Once he became genin, he always blackmailed or coerced his clients to give him more money for each mission. He also gambled frequently, and he usually left casinos with more money that he entered with. However, after the Hokage passed several laws to enforce the age limit, his gambling spree had come to an end. This still didn't stop him from ripping off his clients or doing other "missions."_

_Right after the Chunin Exams and the Sand-Sound Invasion, Danzo, a manipulative council member, offered Horus the position of ANBU commander, after seeing his potential in the exams. Itachi desperately tried to convince him to not accept, but his efforts were all in vain. _

_About a decade ago, Danzo tried to convince Itachi, who was an ANBU captain, to kill off his own clan. As expected, Itachi refused, so without leaving any proof, Danzo sent Root ninja at night to kill off the clan, leaving only Kazumi and Sasuke alive. Itachi was on a mission, and therefore unable to protect his family, but he knew the cause of the massacre. Danzo threatened to kill his younger brother and sister if he leaked the info about the perpetrator of the slaughter, so Itachi kept his mouth shut._

_Itachi did not trust Danzo, but he recieved a secret message from the council member after failing to convince Horus not to join ANBU. Danzo wanted Itachi to retake his position as ANBU captain, so he used the Uchiha's brother and sister as blackmail to accomplish this task. Itachi grudgingly accepted, knowing that there was an ulterior purpose behind the veteran council member's motives._

_Now he is wondering why Horus has changed. Why is he drinking? What sorrow was he trying to drown out with alcohol?_

_"Horus," Itachi stated,"We need to talk."_

_"I know," the ANBU commander responded," Let's take a walk outside."_

_"Okay."_

_Horus stumbled out of his chair. His room is a mess; he was never an organized person. Despite his occasional stumbling, Horus displayed excellent coordination for a drunk 12-year-old. Itachi, worried, followed him out of the building. The duo silently walked towards a factory that is being evacuated, one waiting for the other to speak._

_"I need to tell you some truths," Horus calmly stated. Itachi remained silent._

_"I don't have any parents," Horus told the Uchiha. Itachi's eyes widened. He never knew that Horus was an orphan; in fact, he would sometimes visit his parents._

_"W-What about..."Itachi started to ask. The boy simply chuckled._

_"Those two?" Horus asked, "I needed to get into the academy somehow, so I paid them to play the role. I also couldn't to return to the orphanage."_

_Itachi's jaw dropped. Not only did he live alone for the majority of his life, but he also managed to fool the system multiple times. He now knew why Horus was so money-minded, but he still did not understand why he didn't return to the orphanage._

_"Why weren't you-" Itachi started to ask._

_"They kicked me out." Horus bluntly responded. When Itachi tried to ask another question, Horus raised his hand to end any conversation on this topic._

_"I know that Danzo ordered you to kill me," Horus calmly stated. Itachi avoided eye contact and looked at the ground with guilt. He tried to hide his tears, but Horus was able to notice them._

_"He also threatened you, huh," Horus continued, not showing any symptoms of excessive drinking. Itachi released his tears and didn't hold back. This is the first time the ANBU captain cried ever since the Uchiha massacre._

_"It's okay..." Horus consoled, "I'm the troublesome bastard, remember?"_

_"No.."Itachi sobbed,"I can't-"_

_"Yes you can," Horus assured,"Just kill me. You're a ninja. Do what's best for the village." _

_"No!" Itachi yelled. Suddenly a kunai impaled Horus' chest, forcing him to collapse on his knees. Then, all hell broke loose. Dozens of ninja from the Hidden Rock Village poured in. They were ruthless slaughterers, killing Sound prisoners and Leaf ANBU with the same brutality. _

_"I-Itachi..." Horus muttered, coughing out blood. Itachi is fuming. He wanted to kill the ninja, but he couldn't leave his former student alone._

_"Save as many as you can..."_

_"Y-you won't die," Itachi sobbed,"I'm not going to let you die!" The boy simply chuckled as tears poured down Itachi's face. They both knew that things were going to go south, yet Itachi wanted all of this to end. _

_"You know what sensei...?" Horus asked, "You are like a brother to me...a brother...that I never had..."_

_"Please..." Itachi begged. He didn't want to hear any more, but the commander isn't finished yet._

_"Leave...Save them..." Horus pleaded,"The people...my teammates...they need you."_

_Itachi removed Horus' Hidden Leaf headband and tied a Hidden Rock headband to the boy's forehead. Itachi then released another torrent of sobs, and refused to hold back any more emotion._

_"Go!" Horus finally ordered, "They need you..." After realizing what Horus implied with that statement, Itachi quickly wiped away his tears and disappeared in a swirl of leaves._

* * *

**Back to the Present**

The entire team remained silent.

They were told that Horus betrayed his village. That he was nothing lying, deplorable trash.

Ken, for probably the first time in his life, is in deep thought. Takeshi, with a renewed vigor, added more chakra into his healing jutsu, causing the dim light on his palms to grow much brighter. What nobody ever expected is Kazumi's reaction.

Tears streamed down her face as she silently sobbed. He sacrificed himself, destroyed his legacy, and garnered the hatred of the entire village.

_Why? Why would he do such a thing? _

Then a small groan broke the silence. Ken's head snapped up and his ears perked. Takeshi's face formed a smile as the glow around his hands slowly faded. Kazumi quickly wiped away her own tears, and tried to put on a straight face.

Horus has finally woken up.

* * *

**In the Akatsuki Hideout**

Pain is not happy.

He is the leader of the Akatsuki, and contrary to what the other members expected, he is fuming with rage.

He has never displayed such rage ever since the jinchjuuriki of the Nine Tails mysteriously disappeared form the Hidden Leaf Village. He never made mistakes, yet this is his second one.

With his purple Rinnegan eyes, he scowled at a half-black, half-white humanoid covered in a Venus flytrap-like structure. Its name is Zetsu, and it is Akatsuki's greatest spy, even more effective than Sasori's spy network.

This thing has just told him that Hidan and Kakuzu, the Akatsuki's Immortal Devastators, are not only killed, but they were burned to death by one person. Any sane mind would find this hard, if not impossible, to believe.

Realizing that he cannot dwell on his unbelievable loss, he calmed himself down.

"Deidara, Sasori," Pain ordered, "I want you to capture the jinchjuuriki of the One-Tails."

After nodding, two cloaked men body flickered out of the hideout.

* * *

**Somewhere in the Fire Country**

Itachi, his students, and his former students are currently walking back to the Leaf at a very comfortable, almost lazy pace.

"Itachi-sensei?" Ken asked.

"Yes?"

"Can we go faster?," Ken demanded. Itachi deadpanned, and this caused Ken to scowl at Horus for quite some time. After a few minuted of trying to ignore Ken's glare, the former ANBU commander gave up.

"Can you please stop looking at me like that?" Horus nonchalantly asked,"I'm not interested. You're not my type." This caused Takeshi and Itachi to snicker, and Kazumi's mouth formed a small smile.

"W-what?" Ken sputtered, red-faced from the comment. Suddenly, his embarrassment turned into rage as his jaw clenched and his hands balled up into fists.

"You think you're so special?" Ken threateningly questioned, "Just because you killed some Akatsuki?" This caused his teammates and sensei to suddenly turn serious. Itachi feared that this might get ugly, but he is confident that his former student can handle Ken's rage.

"Me? Special?" Horus chuckled,"In a way, yes, but if anyone here is special, it's you." This silenced Ken, allowing Itachi's former student to continue.

"You have a family which unconditionally loves you, something that none of your teammates nor your sensei can top. Takeshi's family has branded him with a damn curse seal and constantly berated him for being 'weak'. Itachi and Kazumi's clan was slaughtered by who knows what, and she was the sole witness to all of that shit."

"What about you, huh?" Ken retorted,"You don't have any clan expectations to live up to. Your life was perfectly fine, so why the hell did you become a ninja?" This question caused Takeshi to look at his best friend in sadness, and Itachi's face to contort into rage. He was about to punish his student until he heard a loud smack.

"What the the hell was that for!?" Ken yelled. Kazumi is seething with rage, yet she stood expressionless after punching the Inuzuka in the face.

"Ken Inuzuka," Kazumi evenly spoke,"Shut up, or get out." Ken, clutching his jaw, picked himself up and scowled at the female Uchiha. He knew not to mess with the newly promoted jounin, but his anger clouded his judgement as he refused to back down. He threw a left hook at Kazumi, but in a split-second, she grabbed Ken's wrist, flipped him on his back, pinned him to the ground with her knee, and placed a kunai next to his jugular. She stiffened when an arm is placed on her shoulder, but when she realized it is Horus, she pulled the kunai away from Ken's neck and stood up. She turned around to look at the former ANBU commander, who was for some reason gawking at a scar on her neck.

"What is it?" Kazumi irritably asked.

"Your curse mark, it's g-gone," Horus sputtered. Kazumi visibly calmed, satisfied that he was not a pervert with an interesting fetish.

"Yea, it disappeared two months ago, right before the Jounin Exams," Kazumi explained,"Apparently the snake bastard died that day."

"More like burned to death," Takeshi muttered, suspiciously glaring at Horus.

"Tell me," Itachi demanded,"What happened that day?" Horus sighed and held his hands up in mock defeat.

"Fine, I'll tell you," Horus conceded, "But first...let's find a place to stay."

* * *

**A/N: The chapter didn't have much action, but I promise much more of that in the next one. Reviews are always appreciated.**


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